Mass. Pending Home Sales Rise In July

The number of single-family homes put under sale agreement statewide rose nearly 34 percent last month, compared to July 2011, according to new figures from the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.

That's the state's 15th straight month of year-over-year increases.

As MAR said in its release, "pending figures are a leading indicator of actual housing sales in Massachusetts for the following 2-3 months."

“With another pending sales increase in July, our confidence that the market is getting closer to recovery also increases,” MAR President Trisha McCarthy said in the release.

On a month-to-month basis, single-family homes put under agreement dipped nearly 9 percent, compared to June. That's the first month-to-month decline since February.

The number of condominiums put under agreement rose nearly 30 percent, compared to July 2011, but declined nearly 12 percent compared to June of this year.